At least 30 police officers dead in Egyptian desert shootout

Firefights with the Hasm militant group south of Cairo continued into darkness.

At least 16 policemen, including 14 officers were killed and six others injured during clashes with terrorists in Egypt's Giza city, officials said.

A convoy of four SUVs and one interior ministry vehicle was ambushed from higher ground by militants firing rocket-propelled grenades and detonating explosive devices, a senior source in the Giza Security Office said.

As of nightfall, Egypt's state television said the attack was still going on.

The small group Hasm has claimed multiple attacks since 2016 on police, officials and judges in Cairo.

The firefight occurred as police were attempting to raid "a terrorist elements' hideout" in the Bahariya Oasis, located in the desert approximately 370 kilometers (more than 220 miles) southwest of Cairo.